27 per cent of BMC school children addicted to smoking, reveals survey

The ugly leitmotif of adolescent smoking addiction has come into light. According to a survey, a large number of children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are into smoking. The survey was conducted by students from class five to ninth

The doctors of Prince Aly Khan Hospital, Mazgaon, Mumbai, conducted survey in 30 schools BMC schools. The doctor was surprised, as the survey that, so far, 27 per cent of children were into smoking.

Tobacco products have been implicated as the main causes of oral cancer. Still, students get into smoking right from their schooling days. Speaking to My Medical Mantra, Dr Kranti Raimane, Head of the Department of Community Health Service and Research and gynaecologist of Prince Aly Khan Hospital, said, “Consumption of tobacco products amongst children is increasing. On this backdrop, we decided to go to BMC schools and conduct a survey to create awareness amongst the children regarding the ill-effects of consuming it. The report will be submitted to the government and measures will be taken to help them to overcome it.”

The survey was conducted by students from class five to ninth. It was found that at primary level, 27 per cent of children are into addiction. But this survey is not completed yet. It would take a few days to get the exact facts, said Dr Raimane.

Prince Aly Khan Hospital is working to create awareness among cancer patients. One part of this was to know the percentage of addiction in the BMC schools.

A special campaign will initiated from the month of December, to prevent children from getting into addiction. In which children will be invited to write an essay on a topic, discussions of parents and children will be organised, poster competition and painting competition will take place to inform them about the ill-effects of tobacco on health.

Not only this, awareness would be created by visiting the people staying nearby the hospital about the health hazards of tobacco consumption. Medical camps are being organised for examining oral cancer. So far, a total of 15 camps have been organised, in which 10 to 15 per cent of people have shown oral cancer symptoms.